Man sentenced to less than life for murdering WWII vet by lighting on fire

Detriot — An 18-year-old plead guilty to second-degree murder for murdering a 91-year-old WWII veteran by lighting him on fire last month.

Authorities say Steward George Steward IV beat Paul Monchnik to death then doused him with gasoline before setting him on fire last November.

On Friday, Judge Michael Callahan sentenced Steward to 30-60 years in prison.

During the sentencing, Steward apologized to the Monchnik family and said he was “remorseful,” according to Detroit News.

“Each and every day I wish I could take it back,” he said. “No one should be able to leave this world like that. I’m sorry for the loss I caused their family, for the heartache I put in their hearts. Hopefully one day they can find it in their hearts to forgive me.”

Steward’s sister defended him outside the courtroom by saying he was not a “monster” and had never been in trouble before this murder.

Paul Monchnik’s son, Scott, contends Steward is a monster as he saw the crime scene and described it as a “scene from hell.”

He saw his loving childhood home burned and blackened, and blood on the floor from where his father had been beaten to death, Detroit News reported.

“His life was brutally taken from us by a monster,” Scott Monchnik said. “The terrible sickening feeling I get thinking that my dad’s last hour on Earth was filled with horror and pain, worse than anything he went through in the war.”

Steward was Paul Monchnik’s neighbor at the time of the murder. His motive for the murder is still unknown.

Monchnik, who lived alone, was a World War II veteran and self-employed television repairman for more than 50 years.

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